Jealous
by japnken
Summary: Steven wants to go to school and lead a normal life, (or as normal as it can get, being a space prince and all,) but Connie is a little skeptical.


When Connie first heard the idea, she wasn't exactly thrilled about it. She'd overheard Steven and the Gems in a deep conversation about school supplies. _And why are they talking about school supplies? _She wondered for a while- and then she didn't. Later, in the back of Greg's van that faced the moon lit cliff side, Steven told her that he'd been thinking about coming to school. Her school.

"If that's okay with you, of course," he said sweetly. "I don't want to distract you from learning, but I thought it'd be cool to see each other every day at school."

"Oh." She nodded, trying to seem interested. But really, in her head, she'd been thinking about a lot of things. The most obvious thing being that Steven's never been to school. He had no idea what to expect. Maybe he wasn't going to be able to learn with the schools curriculum! And most importantly… those High Schoolers would eat him alive.

Then again, maybe she was just jealous.

"What do you think?" He asked again.

"Oh! Yeah, sounds great. I can't wait." She forced a smile on her face. It was pretty obvious that something was on her mind and Steven caught it rather quickly.

Connie was afraid of that idea very much so. She knew that Steven kind of always lived in his own bubble: he was different. He played music on the beach and he fought aliens to protect the human race, and then he learned. Steven most likely wouldn't adapt very well to the modern world of high schoolers. They liked AirPods and memes and profanity. Steven's innocence would be ripped away from him so quickly. His innocence was part of why Connie loved him so much.

He gently placed his hand on hers and spoke softly. "Is everything okay?"

Connie blinked and looked away. "Well… not really…" she admitted ruefully.

"What's wrong, Connie? Talk to me. Please." He was so pure and sweet- Connie's heart almost shattered. If he really wanted to hear what she had to say, then she would say it.

"Hear me out, okay?" She turned towards him and rested her head on his chest.

"Of course." He placed a hand in her hair.

She took a deep breath. He'd probably already figured out the meaning of all this. She didn't have the right to be so protective of him. If he wanted to go to school, then he should be able to without having to worry about what his girlfriend thought of it. She was being selfish...

"I'm worried that it might not be good… for us." She began slowly and carefully. "There's so many kids there… and so many other girls that are so much smarter and prettier than me…"

"Connie… you're insecure? You think I might cheat on you in High School?" He laughed a little at the end. "I'll have you know that you have my heart. Forever. You're all I ever wanted. And now I have you? There's no way I'm giving that up."

Classic Steven. She wanted to be mad and serious but he had to go and turn this into a sappy romantic speech. But maybe he was right. Maybe she was just insecure.

He pushed her up, gazing deeply and lovingly at her. "I need you to trust me, Connie."

She looked away, searching for the right answer. Was there a right answer? Did she really trust him?

"I trust you, Steven." She said.

"Good. I trust you too." He leaned in and kissed her, soft and sweet.

So that reassured her. She laughed now, thinking back on how worried she was and how easily it had been resolved by just _talking_. She felt better…

At first, she did enjoy waking up early at 6AM with Steven to get ready for school. They walked half a mile out of town to get to the bus stop. Most of the time, that was great… except for when Mother Nature did her thing. It rained sometimes, and they would share an umbrella. Sometimes it would be so cold that they had to wear double layers. And other times it was just fine. They always sat together on the bus. It became a sort of tradition for them.

Everything _was _great.

Until she saw Steven in the halls with a crowd of girls caked up around him. Connie's blood boiled at the sight of it. He looked confused, staring around at all the different girls and listening to what they had to say, then he'd smile and laugh, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. Somehow he was so much more attractive here at school. And it showed.

Then his gaze caught hers, and he perked up and shoved his way through the crowd over to Connie. Everyone swung around, their gazes still locked on him. Connie smiled and reached out for his hand, in which he gladly took in his.

"Hey guys, this is my girlfriend Connie." He leaned over to kiss her cheek, and in turn she blushed. She was suddenly very nervous with all of these eyes on her. Was this what it was like to be famous?

"Connie, these are my friends, Veronica, Jessica, Taylor, and Marcy." He gestured to the group of girls who all had disappointed tears in their eyes. Connie raises an eyebrow and looked over at Steven.

Then the days went on well enough. She seen Steven being pestered in the lunch line, and then they followed him while he balanced his tray as he looked for a table. Connie waved at him, and when he saw her, he quickly made his way to her table.

"Hey, Strawberry," He set his tray down and plopped down on the seat next to her. "This looks good." He beamed down at the frozen broccoli, peanut butter and jelly uncrustable and a dry taquito.

"It's not." Connie laughed. And then she spotted them. Jessie and Bessie or- whatever they're called.

"Shut up real quick, Biscuit," she leaned in and kissed him, in spite of those girls. They all glared back at her smug smiling face while Steven blushed.

Next up was the winter dance- and that was a whole other thing that Connie dreaded. Steven probably had so many girls asking him to that dance already. She knew that he would ask her, but deep down, she still had a little pang in her stomach that he might be falling for someone else.

It was months in the making, everyone was so excited and guys were going all out with their dance-posals. One day, Steven walked Connie to her class. On the way down the hall, they witnessed a kid asking his girlfriend to the dance. Connie has to admit, it was pretty adorable. Steven clapped and cheered but Connie stayed quiet.

"I forgot about the dance," Steven mentioned casually. "You're going, right?" He squeezed Connie's hand.

She hummed while she thought about it. She most certainly didn't _want _to go. But she knew Steven did, and if he did, he'd be open to any other girls attacks. So she said, "Yep. You?"

"I'll go wherever you go." He smiles. "You know that."

Connie giggled, "Okay then. What are you wearing?" She changes the subject.

"Hmmm, I don't know. I don't really have anything fancy. Maybe I could….."

Connie's attention slipped away to all the people who were staring at them as they walked. She couldn't believe how clueless he was.

"You know everyone's like, in love with you, right?" Connie had cut off his random speech about what he would wear. He blinked and then looked around.

"Oh yeah, everyone's staring," he chuckled. "It's okay, I've gotten used to it. Just ignore them."

_But it's not okay, _was what she really wanted to say. But she didn't.

They soon reached Connie's math class, and they departed with a hug before Steven ran to his next class. (He was beyond late but insisted on walking Connie.)

Another thing was gym. She kind of wished she didn't have gym with Steven, because if she didn't, she wouldn't have to witness the thirsty stares of the girls and probably some from the gay guys too. It was getting unbearable. She watched Steven, who was on the guys team, and she was on the girls team. Gym activity today was basketball. And Steven was inhumanly good at basketball…

Before Steven, the boys team sucked- but now they suddenly had 12-3? After Steven would make a hoop, the boys would high five him, and then the girls would ask Connie, "Hey, isn't that your boyfriend?" And she would proudly reply, "Yep, that's my boyfriend!"

After gym, Steven met Connie at lunch.

"I did pretty good today, right? Everyone was giving me high fives, so I think that was good."

Before Connie could answer, a group of boys and girls passed by and said, "Hey Steven, good job at gym today!"

"Thanks, guys!" He replied happily. Connie sighed. The next day in gym was a simple workout. The basketball court had been adorned with weight benches and treadmills.

"Which one are you better at?" Connie turned to ask Steven when she noticed he was staring at three girls on the treadmill with their short shorts and tank tops.

"Weight lifting." He said.

"Me too."

Another time, Connie had been absent from school (much to her dismay,) due to a sudden cold she had caught over the weekend. So Steven went along on his own. This was really his first time at school without Connie. The day went normally, _for the most part._ It happened right after science, Steven was headed to gym. He'd took a quick detour to use the bathroom. He knew people liked to have conventions in the bathroom, but this was a different kind of convention. A kid and a couple of his friends were on the floor, snorting an odd, white powder off of their phones. Steven slowly backed away and decided against using the bathroom.

And the absolute worst thing was when the winter dance finally came around. It was a lousy turnout. Everyone had dressed so very over the top. The guys kept encouraging the bad behavior of kids by requesting raunchy rap music. Connie hated it. She kind of wanted a slow, cheesy, romantic dance- but what did she expect with a bunch of kids like this?

Steven and Connie hung out by the water fountains and talked the whole time. They weren't very interested in dancing to the 'music'. But Connie was fine with that. At least she could still be with him and enjoy his company here. Where everyone could see them. Two girls had come up and asked Steven to dance.

"No thanks, I'm with her." He would say, gesturing to a visibly irritated Connie.

A few minutes passed before another familiar girl came up to the two. Connie didn't like her too much, since they shared a few classes together. She was one of the many girls who Steven befriended since he had been coming here. Her name was Marcy.

The girl was tentative at first, but eventually she joined in on their conversation, seemingly inviting herself in. Connie clearly wasn't happy about this, and Steven knew. He didn't want to be rude by telling her to go away, and neither did Connie.

Suddenly, a popular song blasted through the speakers, and the crowd roared with excitement. It was one of those overplayed bubblegum pop songs that everyone knew these days. Connie wilted with an annoyed groan, not surprised when she saw Steven beam with excitement, alongside Marcy, who was sitting next to them.

"Come on, Connie! You don't wanna at _least_ dance to this one?" Steven practically begged, bouncing in his seat in anticipation. Connie considered it for a moment, but her train of thoughts crashed into a million pieces when the girl suddenly shouted over the music. "What a party pooper! Come on Steven, why don't you and I go?"

She jumped up, grabbing Steven's arm with a sizeable amount of strength and force that he didn't expect, leaving him no choice as Connie watched with wide eyes, then suddenly they flickered with anguish.

Steven smiles at her apoplectically as a bead of sweat ran down his forehead, while Marcy pulled him deeper and deeper into the sea of sweaty, dancing teens.

Eventually, Steven found himself in the middle of a dance circle. Just what he didn't want…

The chorus of the cheesy pop song picked up, and that was when everyone started moving. He felt awkward as he and his friend were the only ones who were stiff in the crowd. His eyes darted around, trying to avoid the blinding strobe lights in his eyes.

"So, … you wanna dance?" He said, trying a confidential smile to try and break the awkward silence. "Yeah!"

So that's what he did. He started a slow dance side to side to the beat. He wished he had brought Connie. This would be way less awkward if she were here. Then they could become Stevonnie, and show all the entitled teenagers what they're up against. He suddenly became genuinely happy at the thought of her, and his whole face lit up.

His dancing became less stiff add he imagined himself as Stevonnie. He averted his gaze back to his friend, and began to chuckle at the silly dance that she was doing. "What are you doing?" He shouted over the music, mid-laughter.

Marcy simply shrugged, and Steven winced in embarrassment for her when she began to an even weirder dance. When she noticed it, she froze. The two started at each other with confusion, before she suddenly shoved him playfully.

"What?! At least I'm having fun. You're not doing _anything," _she giggled, and Steven chuckled dryly, relieved that she wasn't mad.

Suddenly, she had grabbed his hand and pulled him closer. Then his other hand. Steven was taken aback, but went with it anyway when she began dancing with him. She stepped back and forth, pulling him with her as he followed nervously, but he smiled nonetheless.

From somewhere afar, Connie could see it all. Sadness clouded her eyes. She gazed off into the corner as watery disappointment filled her eyes, thinking back to those drama/romcom teen movies where similar situations like these happened.

This is just what she had feared. Just what she didn't want to happen, of course, was happening. She knew it was a bad idea for Steven to go to school…

She didn't know what to do now. Should she run to the bathroom and cry, just like in the movies? Or should she go out there and break those two apart? Both of them were immature, but the second option was only a consideration when tears began to roll down her cheeks.

She had been actively avoiding Steven for the past week. And she knew he knew why.

It was Friday, so Connie spent break time cleaning out her locker. In the far back, she found a crumpled piece of paper behind all her books and trash.

"A letter?" She wondered aloud, reaching back to grab it. She blinked before slowly opening it. She knew who it was from almost immediately when she saw the handwriting.

_Meet me at the bleachers at lunch. Love u, Bring your food :)_

_-Steven u. _

Connie rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but smile. Why the bleachers though?

When it was lunch time, Connie did as Steven had asked. She didn't bring her food tray because she had suddenly lost her appetite.

She sat on the highest deck, in the far back. She wanted to make Steven work to get to her.

A good 30 minutes passed and Steven still hadn't shown up. She tapped her foot impatiently, searching around the field to see if she might spot his distinctive pink jacket. Nothing.

And then 10 minutes later, he showed up.

She looked away as he climbed up the bleachers, his tray in hand. It looked like he may have tried to cram an extra meal or two into it.

He set it down in between them and sat down.

"Hey," she said mockingly, still looking away.

"Hey." He matched her tone.

"I knew you wouldn't eat. That's why I brought extra." He laughed. "Why did you come all the way up here? I spent so long trying to figure out where you were!"

"No reason." Connie said, clearly amused and satisfied that had upset him a little bit. "So why are we up here, Universe?" She added smartly.

"Oh, well, that's up to you. Tell me why you hate me." He grabbed an apple slice and popped it in his mouth.

"I don't hate you. I'm just mad…"

"'Why' is what I'm trying to figure out."

"I just hate how everyone is out to get us. Like that girl- what was her name? Marcy?" She picked a loose nail in the wood planks. She could feel Steven's gaze watching her closely.

"You literally left me to go dance with her. Do you know how that made me feel, Steven?"

"Let me start by saying that girl is _so _strong." He laughed. "She pulled me away. I didn't want to be rude, so I danced with her. It was all friendly, Connie, I swear."

"Okay, fine. Then tell me why I always see you flirting with _everyone _in the halls?"

"I'm not flirting!"

he chewed on his bottom lip, not knowing what to say.

Connie's sighed loudly. "Steven. I'm sorry. I don't know what's going on. And I'm scared and I'm confused and I'm mad! I don't know if you're even taking this seriously!"

"Of course I'm taking this seriously!" He yelled back, clearly offended.

Steven sighed, realizing that he had just raised his voice at the most important person in his life.

"I-I'm sorry, Connie. I didn't mean to yell at you." He sighed. "I need you to tell me what's wrong so I can make it right." He offered his hand to her. She slowly took it and looked up at him.

"Okay. You're right. Let's talk about this, like real people." She stroked his hand with her thumb, her gaze shying away at the last moment.

"I'm just gonna say it, alright? I'm jealous," she huffed.

"Jealous ... jealous of what?" He asked- then he thought about what she could possibly be talking about.

"Of you. You're so nice and everyone likes you. I knew from day one that this would be inevitable. People like guys like _you_." She said obscurely.

"What-"

"I'm not done." She pressed a finger to his lips. "I cannot express this enough, can I? I'm _jealous!_ I don't know what you're thinking! I don't even know if you love me anymore!"

"Connie-"

"Shh!"

Connie sighed again, this time it was gentle. "I know I probably sound controlling, or- or clingy, but I can't help it. You're a free for all here, if you hadn't realized that already. You're soft." She pulled her hand away.

"I'm just… sorry. And I hope you still like me."

"_Oh, Connie." _He reaches for her hand again, gently taking it and holding it with both his hands.

"You have no reason to feel _jealous_," he said that word like it was a curse. But Steven had felt jealousy before and it doesn't feel nice.

"I thought you said you trusted me!"

"I _did!_"

"But you don't now?"

"I… I…" she blushed and turned away again. "Not so much?" She winced. When she said that, Steven seemed to have deflated.

"Why don't you trust me?" He asked sadly, clouds in his eyes.

"Steven… it's complicated. It's not so much you that I don't trust you. It's more than that."

"More than what?"

"More than not trusting you, I mean. Maybe it's just like you said all that time ago. I'm insecure." Insecure might have been an understatement.

"I didn't mean to say that." He whispered.

"It's okay though, because you were right. Just like you always are," she chuckled. "Look, I just wanna move past this, okay?"

"Okay. Me too." Steven sighed, he was very much relieved. "I need you to talk to me when something's bothering you. We always make it through."

He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her fingers gently. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too." Connie smiles before pushing herself closer to Steven- and then they were kissing again. Steven sighed and happily kissed her back.

Connie pulled back, laughing. "Why are you so good at this?"

"I'm good at you." He smiled and then pulled her back in. Connie pushes back again, just to mess with him.

"You're good at _me? _What's that supposed to mean?"

"I know exactly what you want. What you like." At that, Connie rolled her eyes. "Am I wrong?"

"_No." _

"See? Now can we kiss again?"

"Hmm.. no."

Steven's smile vanished. "What?"

"We'll kiss when you catch me-" she stood up.

And she ran.

"Can I see you after school?!" He yelled to her. And all she gave him was that curious thumbs up.

"That'll do." He sighed.


End file.
